Linear dual diversity combining on Nakagami-0.5 fading channels

The Nakagami-m distribution with m = 0.5 becomes the one-sided Gaussian distribution. This is an important special case of the Nakagami distribution as it represents a worst case fading scenario with severe fading. The performances of three basic diversity combining schemes operating in Nakagami-0.5 fading channels are determined. It is shown that dual maximal ratio combining diversity is equivalent in error rate performance to a single branch Rayleigh channel with twice the transmission power for an arbitrary modulation format. It is also shown that the error rate performances of equal gain and selection combining diversity are identical regardless of modulation format.